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 January Oregon Health Plan expansion grinds to a hault The Republican leadership has temporarily derailed the expansion of the Oregon Health Plan. House Speaker Mark Simmons and Senate President Gene Derfler halted the process by canceling a meeting of the Leadership Commission on Health Care Costs and Trends, which they co-chair. House Bill 2519, which created the expansion, requires the commission meet before the Legislative Emergency Board considers the waiver request. That group convenes on Jan. 31. OHP hit by recession The recession has dropped a bomb on the Oregon Health Plan. Current projections indicate another 43,000 people will join the plan this biennium, primarily families, couples without children and the TANF population, according to Doug Wilson, assistant director of finance and policy analysis in the Department of Human Services. Federal trial puts spotlight on HIV name-reporting Forget a rock and a hard place, allegations filed against three employees at the Department of Human Services (DHS) puts them between a lawsuit and a public relations nightmare. The federal trial is scheduled to begin March 19. Medicare cuts hurt physicians Physicians are furious at the news of yet another cut in Medicare reimbursement - the fourth across-the-board cut in the last 10 years. In an angry letter, Dr. Richard Corlin, president of the American Medical Association, blamed the Senate Republicans leadership for blocking floor action on a bill that would have reduced the cut to physician reimbursement. Diagnosis: Bankruptcy When Lucinda Johnson's son was found permanently brain damaged from a drowning accident, it didn't seem she could sink any lower. Despite numerous operations to keep him alive, he eventually died. Her enormous medical debt, however, remained. Mannix: 'I'm not walking away from health care' Mannix spoke with Oregon Health Forum Editor Diane Lund-Muzikant. Each month, Oregon Health Forum interviews one of the major candidates for governor. NW docs go to Afghanistan The commute, more than anything else, gets to Drs. Tom Hoggard and Mary Burry. More often than not, the husband and wife team's arduous trek toward war and natural disaster is punctuated with exploding ordinance, tanks and concertina wire. Afghanistan, where the couple recently spent three weeks accessing medical needs for Northwest Medical Teams, was no exception, said Hoggard. Bold new initiatives seek to revolutionize health care Many ideas beginning with the words "What if. . ." are materializing into real choices for Oregon voters to wrestle with in the coming months. Here are some of the measures likely to appear on the November ballot that could lead to sweeping changes in health policy. Also in this issue...
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